US Kills 5 Taliban Fighters in Afghanistan

An American airstrike on Taliban forces in Afghanistan killed five combatants, Col. Sonny Leggett, spokesperson for US military forces, reported on Sunday night. The strike was conducted to support Afghan security forces in the Wardak province, central Afghanistan, he said. A Taliban spokesman said that there was no fighting in the area and that these killings by the US were a violation of terms of their February 2020 withdrawal agreement. Speaking in Kabul, Leggett disputed the Taliban claim, stating, “We reject the allegations of violating the agreement and of killing innocent Afghans.” Despite ongoing negotiations in Qatar between Afghanistan’s central government and the Taliban, violence over the past month has escalated. Sources say that the rising violence is undermining the trust needed if the talks in Qatar are to succeed. Earlier this month, the Taliban also accused the US of violating terms of the withdrawal agreement when US airpower backed Afghan government forces trying to repel Taliban fighters in the southern Helmand province.